Lighting system



H. D. wERTs LIGHTING SYSTEM Filed Jan. 24, 1941 Nov. l1, 1941.

Patented Nov. ll, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIGHTING SYSTEM Howard D. Werts, La Salle, Ill.

Application January 24, 1941, Serial No. 375,851

1 Claim.

My invention relates to lighting systems for motor vehicles and has as one of the principal objects thereof the provision of a lighting system wired in a manner that when one or more of the lights of the vehicle are extinguished due to accidental cause, for instance, short circuiting, defective wiring a'nd/or burnt out bulbs, a sumcient number of lights will remain illuminated in order that the vehicle may be driven over the highway to a suitable locality where the defective portion of the system may be inspected and repaired..

Another object of my invention is to provide a system of the above described character wherein the lights on one side of the vehicle are disposed in a circuit independent of the lights on the other side. l

A further object of my invention is to provide a system of the above described character wherein electrically operated accessories are disposed in a circuit independent of the light circuit.

An important object of my invention is to provide a system of the above described character which is extremely simple and eiiiclent in operation and which lends itself to economical installation.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, appended claims and annexed drawing.

As diagrammatically illustrated in the single figure of the drawing, I provide a plurality of motor vehicle light sources comprising right front, right rear, left front and left rear'lights 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively. The right and left front lights 3 and 5 constitute a pair of head lights 1 while the right and left rear lights 4 and 6 constitute a pair of tail lights 8. The right front and rear lights 3 and 4 and the left front and rear lights 5 and 6 are connected, by circuits A and B respectively, to the positive terminal of a battery 9, the latter having its negative terminal grounded as at II).

Inasmuch as the circuits A and B are identical, a detail description of circuit A will suffice, it being understood that the reference characters indicative of the wiring and associated parts of circuit A are provided with exponents a to indicate like wiring and parts of circuit B.

The head and tail lights are equipped with electric light bulbs II and I2 respectively and with the head lights each provided with a parking bulb I3. Each of the bulbs II is equipped with bright and dimmer or high and low projecting beam filaments I5 and I6 respectively and with said filaments I5 and Ii having a common terminal I1 which together with one terminal Il of each of the bulbs I2 and Il is grounded as at G to eilect connection with the negative of the battery 9.

'Ihe illaments I5 and I6 have independent terminals I! and 2li respectively which, in common with the other terminals 2I and 22 of the bulbs I2 and Il respectively, are connected to the positive terminal of the battery 9 by thi` hereinafter described circuits A and B.

As illustrated in the drawing, I provide a switch 2l having a casing 24 of insulating material and which is of a circular conguration in plan and formed with a marginal portion 25, the latter having opposite sides each provided with a ternary of spaced contact members 28, 21 and 28 respectively. The casing 24, adjacent each ternary is formed with a lateral projection 2l provided with a similar ternary of spaced contact members III, 3| and I2 respectively and with said latter contact members arranged for connection to the contact members 26, 21 and 2l respectively and thus form connectable pairs of contact members for a purpose hereinafter set 25 forth.

Centrally and rotatably mounted Within the casing 24 is a bar 33 of insulating material, said bar having fixed to each of its ends a substantially V-shaped contact element 34, the latter being formed with a pair of contact arms 35 and 38 respectively and with the arm 35 adapted for selective engagement with a connectable pair of the aforementioned Contact members.

Each of the arms 36 of the elements 34 engages one of a pair of spaced contact plates 31, carried by the marginal portion 25, when the arms 35 are disposed in engagement with the hereinbefore described contact members. The contact members 26, 21 and 28 are connected by means of wires 38, 39 and 4I) to one end of a. wire 4I, the latter having its opposite end connected to the terminal 2I of the bulb I2. The contacts Il, 3| and 32 are connected to the terminals Il, 24 and 22 of the bulbs II and I3 by means of wires 42, 4I and 44 respectively. The plate 31 is connected to the positive terminal of the battery by means oi? a lead 45, the latter having interposed therein a fuse 46. As illustrated in the drawing, an electrical accessory 41 is connected to the positive terminal of the battery by means of a lead 45 having a fuse 49 interposed therein and with said accessory grounded as at for connection to the negative terminal of the battery.

The bar 33 is xed to the lower end of a shaft 2 aaeasso Il', the latter extending upwardly through the steering column (not shown) of a motor vehicle for rotation by the operator to control the lighting system.

' In operation, when it is desired to illuminate the tail lights Il and the bright maments I5 of thehead lights, the bar 33 is rotated clockwise a sumcient distance to dispose the arms 35 and 3l in engagement with the-contact members 26 and 3l and the plate .31. and the contact arms lia and 30a in connected engagement with the contact members 26a and lla and the plate 31a. Further clockwise rotation of the bar 3l will enable selective engagement of the arms with the other pairs of contact members and plates to successively illuminate the dimmer filaments and tail lights and the parking bulbs and tail lights. To extinguish the lights, the bar Il is rotated in the opposite direction a suiilcient distance to break the connection between any of the contact members and the plates 31 and 31a as illustrated in the drawing.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that should any defect occur in one of the circuits when the lights are illuminated, the lights in the other circuit will remain illuminated and thus permit operation of the motor vehicle to a locality wherein thev defective circuit may be repaired. Itwilll be noted that the ciruitsare providedwith individual fuses for protecting the respective circuits in case of short circuiting. Furthermore, it will be apparent that theblowing of a fuse inone circuit will inno way eilect the condition of the other circuit.

Without further elaboration the foregoing will so. fully explain theinvention that others may, by'` applying current knowledge, readilyadapt the same for-use uhder various conditions of service. Moreover,` it 'is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be usedconjointly since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and sub-combinations.

It is obvious` that the invention is not confined to the herein described use therefor as it hends all construction within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

In a lighting system for motor vehicles, a pair of headlights one located on the right front side of a vehicle and the other located on the left front side of the vehicle and each including a pair of electric lamps and one having a single filament and the o ther having a double filament, a pair of tail lights mounted on the rear of the vehicle and each including an electric lamp of a `\single lament type, means electrically connecting the laments to an electric ground, an insulated switch mounting including a pair of ground contacts electrically connected to an electric source and the latter electrically connected to the electric ground, groups of contacts mounted on opposite portions of the switch mounting, means electrically connecting the filaments of the headlights to contacts of each group -of contacts, means electrically connecting the filaments of the lamps of the tail lights to contacts of the groups of contacts, an elongated rotatable member carried by said switch mounting, and a pair of L-shaped contacts secured to said member adjacent the ends of the latter and movable thereby to bridge the contacts of the groups of con- 5 tacts in pairs and simultaneously engage the ground contacts for illuminating the lamps of the tail lights with either of the lamps of the headlights and whereby the headlights and tail lights at either side of the vehicle may be i1- 4o luminated should either of the lamps of the headlights or tail lamps at the other side of the vehicle bum out.

HOWARD D. WERTS. 

